Full transcript: Brian & Mariana Rose on London Real
0:02 Brian Rose: You know, I think for most of my life, I thought that the world was about me. Everything was about Brian, how much money I could make, and how many things I could do, and how many things I could buy. That’s not what life is about. Life is about helping other people. It’s about giving something back. It’s about creating something beautiful.
0:22 Mariana Rose: The boys are very much part of what you’re doing, and we watch the videos together. And the other day I’ve told him that you want to put 10,000 policemen on the streets. And Kayden asked me, who do you have to give them horses?
0:34 Brian Rose: If you think about family, it’s one of the most important things in a society. So family first is an important policy I have to really try to make sure that we hold the structure of the family with as much integrity as possible.
0:47 Interviewer: In Bulgaria, we say, n’yama nevas mors n’yne esta? Nothing is impossible. Is that true?
0:54 Brian Rose: Yes. I have so much optimism for the future, for London.
0:59 I see so much possibility in the future. I think anyone can do anything. My daughter, Gabby, she turned 17 yesterday and I took her out for ice cream last night. And as we walked home, I said, you can do anything you want in your life. And I mean, part of the reason I run for mayor is so she can see what’s possible.
1:20 My boys can see what’s possible. Anyone in the world can see what’s possible. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it, put in the hard work and just believe.
1:35 Interviewer: It’s my pleasure to be with you both here. And thank you for the opportunity to be hosted in your Rio London studio, Brian.
1:46 How are you feeling to be a guest here?
1:49 Brian Rose: Well, you’re right. Usually I’m the host in this studio and for the past 10 years I’ve had over a thousand guests sit down and have two, three hour conversations. It could be a professional athlete or an activist or a movie star or a musician. So usually I’m asking the questions and I’m listening, but it’s great to be here today.
2:12 It’s nice to talk as well. And it’s nice to be here with Mariana as well. And it feels good.
2:19 Interviewer: So thanks for being here. Tell me more about London Rio and your work here.
2:24 Brian Rose: Well, London Rio started 10 years ago. At the time I was working as a banker in the city of London. And I was that bachelor, you know, with the big flat all alone going into the city of London trying to make as much money as possible and I was miserable, I was depressed, I had no family and I figured I needed to make a change and so I quit my job as a banker. I had been watching YouTube and I thought, why not start my own show? I had no experience in broadcasting.
2:56 I’m an introvert actually, I’m not really an extroverted person but I thought, I just wanna do this And so I started interviewing my friends, anybody who I could convince to come over to my kitchen and have conversations. And that’s how it started. And we did one every week, no matter what. And it started off with, like I said, anyone that would come and then pretty soon we had an author and then pretty soon we had a member of parliament and then pretty soon it just grew and grew and grew.
3:25 And then I changed as well, you know, and the show’s changed me a lot.
3:31 Interviewer: He has a song, An Englishman in New York. In your case, Brian, I think the title of your song will be An American Man in London, right?
3:41 Brian Rose: Yeah, that’s a great song, Englishman in New York. Yeah, I am an American in London.
3:48 It’s true, and a lot of people hear my accent. But I’ve been here over 21 years now, and I became a British citizen in 2007. So I actually feel British, you know, obviously I dress British, our two sons were born here, and I feel like the city flows through my veins somehow. I was born in San Diego on the beaches with the sand and the surf, but I would rather be in London in a suit, even in the rain. I just love this city so much, and I plan on being buried here.
4:19 So maybe I’d say an American in London, but I feel British.
4:24 Interviewer: Mariana, in your case, what would be the correct title of your life song? A Bulgarian woman in London or?
4:32 Mariana Rose: In City Hall. Bulgarian Rose in City Hall.
4:36 Brian Rose: That’s what we’re going for.
4:38 Interviewer: Brian, what is the story of man who starts his career in Wall Street, in America, you say that. And now he’s a candidate for a mayor of London. It’s a curious journey, isn’t it?
4:50 Brian Rose: Yeah, so yeah, I started on Wall Street I came to London to work in finance and in the city of London in banking You know, I think for most of my life. I thought that The world was about me Everything was about Brian how much money I could make and how many things I could do and how many things I could buy and consume And I think when I hit about 40 years old, I realized that that’s not what life is about life is about It’s about helping other people.
5:22 It’s about giving something back. It’s about creating something beautiful. And so I just switched and started broadcasting London Real. It was never supposed to be anything, not a business, not a channel. It’s just something I felt like I had to do, have these conversations and give them to the world for free so they could change the world.
5:40 We always want to change the world. Any conversation we have here, I hope someone listens to it in South America or in Russia or in China or in Bulgaria and listens to it and says, wow, I could change my life. So our mission here has always been to transform the world. And so as mayor of London, it’s a continuation of that mission. I just wanna transform more lives.
6:02 And so that’s why I’m running to be a mayor of London. I never thought I would ever go into politics, no interest. And I never wanted to be mayor of London. But about six months ago, I looked at the city And I thought, I can’t sit by and watch these politicians run the city I love into the ground. They’re ruining this place.
6:21 It’s my home, and it’s my children’s home. And they’re going to have to grow up one day and ask, Daddy, what did you do about the problem? Did you make some more videos, or did you actually try to become the mayor? So I spoke to Mariana. She thought I was crazy.
6:38 She said, why are you doing this? London Real has never been so popular. The business has never been so booming. She’s like, why do this? You don’t need to do this.
6:47 This is gonna be difficult. There’s gonna be a lot of criticism, but I just told her I can’t not do this. I have to do this. And it’s been an amazing journey. Reception’s been incredible.
7:01 Interviewer: When I came to London, a friend of mine told me that London will be that what I make himself with him. It’s true What is the magic of this city? I think that is the correct word magic.
7:15 Brian Rose: Yes It isn’t is magic. I think there was that old quote that said when a man is tired of London He is tired of life and so or a woman and so I think London has Everything you want as an opportunity and you can do anything you want with your life whether you come from from California or Bulgaria, you can come here and there’s opportunity to change your life.
7:43 That doesn’t happen in every city. And I think it’s all there if you want to do something amazing. And that’s a special thing, that’s a special thing.
7:54 Interviewer: Mariana, which is the correct way to be Bulgarian in London? We know what is to be correct way to be American in London, but which is the correct way to be Bulgarian in London?
8:06 Mariana Rose: Have to embrace the culture and surround yourself with people who resonate to your ideas and show work ethic and kindness and then introduce them to the food.
8:20 Interviewer: Really?
8:21 Mariana Rose: Yes that’s the winning form. Yeah you represent wherever you go you represent who you are you represent your family you represent your culture be the best.
8:34 Interviewer: What is your love story? Her story? No your Our life story no life. What is your love story?
8:42 Brian Rose: Yeah a lot of love story So I met Mariana on Old Bond Street in Mayfair when I went to buy a dress that’s what I went to do I went to buy a dress and Mariana was working at Dolce and cabana and she had a big smile and all this positive energy and and that’s how I met her in the store and it took me six months to get the courage up to finally ask her out on a date although she says she asked me out on the date I’m not sure and we had our first coffee and and we met and yeah that right yes unusual circumstances but yeah we went in all the way yeah the very first date I found out that Mariana was a single mother. She had a daughter in London that was born here, you know, obviously Bulgarian, and I never dated a woman with a child before. And so my first instinct was, this is strange, but I’m still here, you know, and so I think I met Gabby, your daughter a couple a couple dates later and it soon became obvious to me that this was maybe a sign from the world to say guess what this is an amazing woman an amazing young girl and maybe they need you in their lives so it
10:16 Was it was a it was a big transition for me from the single guy to the to the father now, you know, almost in a few months.
10:25 Interviewer: Brian, in your program, for many things, you use the word first, health first, economy first, sport first. Why do you think that family comes first?
10:36 Brian Rose: See, I think you’re referring to my policies as the next mayor of London. And so many of these things are important to me, you know, our health, the economy, transportation, housing. But if If you think about family, it’s one of the most important things in a society.
10:56 I got taught that by Mariana and Gabby. And now our two boys that we’ve had as well, Damon and Caden. The family structure, it made me a better man. The family structure made me change because I knew Gabby was watching me, you know, our daughter. I knew my boys were watching me.
11:14 I had something that meant something more to me than just myself. And so family first is an important policy I have to really try to make sure that we hold the structure of the family with as much integrity as possible. Because when people care about their family members, even extended family members, aunts, uncles, nieces, grandmothers, grandchildren, it’s like this invisible force that I think gets people to do the right thing. And they’re always willing to do the right thing as long as the family stays intact.
11:44 So it’s something that Mariana has taught me. I mean, if it wasn’t for her, I might still be the bachelor, you know, with the big house, miserable. But now family’s so important to me and it’s changed my life.
11:59 Interviewer: Mariana, in which role Brian is better as a father or as a person who inspired other people to rise?
12:07 Mariana Rose: That’s an interesting question.
12:09 The boys are very much part of what you’re doing and we watch the videos together and the other day I told them that do you want to put 10,000 policemen on the streets? And Kayden asked me, who do you have, give them horses, so. So they’re very much a part of who you are and what we are doing as part, it’s like inseparable. Yeah, I think that family is a feeling of security, of basic things in our life.
12:40 Interviewer: But in your program, I use the Mariana word, You have a cost plan to put 10,000 more police on the streets and invest in 250 community centers to address the core problems that lead to crime.
12:54 What are the main topics of your program as next Mayor of London?
12:58 Brian Rose: So as the next Mayor of London, there’s four main issues that we need to focus on. The first, it’s right in front of our faces, is we have to rebuild the economy. It’s so important. And just opening things up is not enough to really rebuild the economy.
13:13 And I think you need a business person with 30 years of experience. I’ve worked in automotive, aerospace, Wall Street, City of London, and now on new media. And I know how to proactively get London back to work, to where I think this year could be our best year on record. I’ve got plans to create something called the Great Celebration, which is 31 days of festivals and street fairs all throughout the month of August, where we get 20 million people into London, spending and celebrating the best of London and the best of what we do here and show the world that we can recover faster than anyone else and be looking to the future and show off that indomitable British spirit that I feel proud to have.
13:50 So that’s the big one. Let’s rebuild the economy. The next one is, like you said, make our streets safe. We see these reports of knife crimes every few days in the city and it’s at an all-time high and our children are being stabbed on the streets and it’s unacceptable. And so, I have a plan, and I know how to pay for it, that’s very different things, because a lot of people talk about putting officers on the street.
14:13 I know what it’s gonna cost, 300 million pounds, I know where the money comes from. And I’ve spoken with senior members of the Metropolitan Police, and they love my idea. And that’s 10,000 more officers on the street that’s gonna stop the gang activity and reduce the crime. But that’s not enough. We have to invest in the communities, because these teenagers, they don’t know what to do sometimes.
14:31 Between 3.30 p.m. when they come home from school, at 8.30 p.m. when mom or dad comes home, they have five hours. And if you don’t give them something constructive to do, they’ll find something else to do. And so I have a plan to call up corporations like Amazon, Uber, Barclays, HSBC, and get them to donate 100 million pounds per year to build or rebuild 250 community centers in London.
14:55 It’s a win for everyone. They win because they give back to the communities where they make a lot of money. It’s a great branding experience. The children win, the families win as well. So that’s my policy to keep London safe.
15:07 There’s two of the things that Londoners care about. They care about transport. They hate the congestion charges. They hate these low traffic neighborhoods. They hate that their TFL is going bankrupt.
15:17 So I have a solution for all of that. I wanna abolish the congestion charge until next year. I wanna run TFL like a business, not like a charity. And I wanna rethink these LTNs. And finally, we have to build housing.
15:29 Affordable housing has just not been built in this city. The current mayor has built, I think, 3% of what he promised, and I have a plan to build 50,000 new affordable homes by Christmas this year.
15:41 Interviewer: It’s real?
15:42 Brian Rose: Yeah. And it’s never been done before, but in business, you have to take action and you hold people accountable.
15:49 In politics, I hear a lot of excuses, they ask for a lot of bailout money, but I’m here to get things done and I wanna show people it’s time to stop talking about building houses and to start building houses. We’re gonna build it on TFL land and we’re gonna put people in there. So those are the big things that are on Londoners minds. I spent the last six months on these detailed policies and they’re the best ideas out there.
16:14 Interviewer: In your program, freedom of speech is one of main topics.
16:17 Why is that so important to you?
16:19 Brian Rose: So for 10 years, I sat here in this studio having conversations just like this with some of the most incredible people in the world. And we did it unedited, unscripted, uncensored. you got to say whatever you wanted to say for two hours, three hours, four hours. And we put it out for people to watch for free.
16:38 No one had ever really seen this done before. And we were doing that for nine years until last year. Someone decided on a day in April last year when actually I was here in the studio live streaming the second largest YouTube live stream in the world that day. It was Donald Trump beat me. He was the highest one and I was number two.
17:00 They decided that they didn’t like that conversation, and there’s something fundamentally wrong when you don’t have the right to free speech. Whether you’re from America or Bulgaria or from London, it’s just not okay. And so we spent all of last year fighting for freedom of speech on our digital platforms, on our streets, and we’re still fighting today. And it’s an important right, and I think so many times we forget to fight for our rights. And so for me, freedom of speech is important, and as the next mayor of London, digital freedom of speech will be important.
17:31 So these tech platforms, they’re gonna have to allow us to express ourselves. As long as it’s done in a way that doesn’t support violence, that doesn’t support the overthrow of governments, there’s a limit, but you have to be able to express your ideas and it’s really important to me.
17:53 Interviewer: How has the lockdown changed your life, Mariana?
17:57 Mariana Rose: It’s been very hard. It’s been very hard for me because I have a big circle of friends and this conversation is so important to me.
18:07 And I’ve been alone with the kids for long periods of time and not being able to spend time with my family. It’s just some days are bad. Some days are good, but I’m pushing through.
18:22 Interviewer: Ryan.
18:22 Brian Rose: Well, you know, as Mariana knows, what I do when things are difficult is I do more.
18:29 And so, you know, and so we’ve, you know, what I, what I’ve been over the last year is extremely active. And the only way I’m able to do that is because Mariana is amazing. I mean, she’s always supported me with London Real. And this is back when no one was watching London Real. Right?
18:48 And yeah, and I was doing it from my kitchen and there was no business. And I was doing this for years with nobody watching, basically. It wasn’t making any money. And Mariana never once questioned my passion to do this thing. And so she’s always supported me.
19:02 And this last year when we had to fight for freedom of speech, I mean, we almost lost our whole business just fighting for that basic human right. She’s been supportive. And so I’ve been in here fighting every day. And for the last six months I’ve been in here running for mayor every single day. And we do it together.
19:20 If she wasn’t there to look after our boys and support me, there’s no way I can do this, no way.
19:26 Interviewer: What do you know about Bulgaria before meeting Mariana?
19:30 Brian Rose: You know, I didn’t know much about Bulgaria at all, you know. I knew it was a country in Europe, and that’s about it. Since then, I’ve gotten to know a lot about Bulgaria.
19:41 I’ve been to Burgas, I’ve been to Plovdiv, Baba, Grandma and Grandpa come and visit us. I know the food, I know some of the words.
19:51 Interviewer: Do you speak Bulgaria?
19:52 Brian Rose: Dobre Nistravia, that’s my Bulgarian, a little bit, a little bit, but I mean, I love Bulgaria and Bulgarians because they remind me a little bit of Americans somehow and actually both of us come from seaside towns, Burgas and San Diego are both on the sea, they both have sand, they both have sun, but I meet Bulgarians, they’re hard working people that wanna come to a place like London and they wanna change their lives.
20:24 And her mother, she’s amazing, her mother reminds me of my grandmother. Solid values, no nonsense, nobody messes with Baba in my house, right? Her rules, but really good moral values, really good ethics, and I love it when she raises my boys as well. So, yeah, I feel part Bulgarian.
20:45 Interviewer: Really?
20:46 Brian Rose: Yeah, and my you know, our children are all part Bulgarian
20:50 Interviewer: So there was a little bit more about your daily life daily routine
20:55 Brian Rose: Well The routine from my perspective is I wake up in the morning and one thing I do every day is I walk my two boys to school. So to make that happen She has to be up early and to make sure what you cook for them. Sometimes they eat. They’re pretty crazy They’re three and four years old, so they’re like bandits all the time, pretty crazy.
21:21 But I always make sure I walk them to school, so we walk to school today. It was successful. And then I drop them off at school and then I come into London Real. And then for me, I try to come home at night to read them a story before they go to bed at around 12 hours later, is what I try to do. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t.
21:41 Now that’s my perspective. What does it look like for you?
21:44 Mariana Rose: My favorite time of the day is like when you come home on time, when you read them a story and you don’t actually read the story, you make up the story and they’re laughing just before they go to bed, they go ecstatic, they’re like, I’m sitting on the stairs outside and I’m listening to you. I’m listening to your story. And you’re just like, I love it, it’s like my time too.
22:04 Brian Rose: So I read them a story and then I turn the lights off and then I keep telling my own story and I make up these adventures and I wait for them to fall asleep. But I’m getting pretty good.
22:17 Mariana Rose: Yeah, your voice is very polished
22:20 Interviewer: What will change in your family life Or if you Brian win the election on 6th of May
22:26 Brian Rose: Family life, I’d like to think it doesn’t change. You know, I still want to walk my voice to school in the morning I still want to tell them stories at night I’ve been out here in the media for a long time as mayor of London. It’ll be more I’m sure I’ll have more comments and critics, but also we’ll be doing more amazing things for this city I mean, we’re gonna do incredible things for this city make London the best city in the world So I don’t see it changing that much. I’m sure there will be more eyes on us perhaps
23:03 Interviewer: In Bulgaria, we say Niamh and I was mostly in a star Nothing is impossible Is that true?
23:09 Brian Rose: Yes, why?
23:10 I have so much optimism for the future, for London, for everyone. I know it’s been the hardest year that most people have experienced in their whole life, you know, and I know we’ve all struggled, I know Mariana struggled, you know, but I see so much possibility in the future. I think anyone can do anything. And my daughter Gabby, she turned 17 yesterday and I took her out for ice cream last night. And as we walked home, I said to her, I said, you can do anything you want in your life.
23:40 You can be anyone you wanna be. And I mean, part of the reason I run for mayor is so she can see what’s possible. My boys can see what’s possible. Anyone in the world can see what’s possible. Anything is possible.
23:52 If you put your mind to it, put in the hard work and just believe. And I wish everybody felt that way. I think it would be an incredible world to live in if everybody had that spirit, that optimism.
24:06 Interviewer: So I love that expression. And I feel that that is the way I feel.
24:11 Brian Rose: That’s us, that’s London Real, that’s our family. What do you think?
24:17 Mariana Rose: Yes, I’m right behind you.
24:19 Interviewer: Okay, guys, thanks for the interview. I think that that’s for me, that’s my question.
24:26 If you want to say something, the studio’s yours.
24:29 Brian Rose: No, I just wanna say thank you, I appreciate the time. We don’t do many of these pieces, you know, where we get to sit here and talk together. But it really is a team effort. I can’t do everything I do if Mariana wasn’t doing an incredible job at home.
24:47 There’s just no way because I would feel torn between problems and issues and feel like I have to do that. She’s always been 100% supportive and is 100% supportive. And I don’t have to worry about any problems there. And I think that would actually make it harder for me to be mayor or harder for me to do at London Real. So, is it?
25:09 I trust you. Thank you, Becky. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.
